A sexual abuse expert has backed the Gazette's campaign to name and shame kerb crawlers.

A sexual abuse expert has backed the Gazette's campaign to name and shame kerb crawlers.

The Kerb the Crawlers campaign, which aims to stop men travelling to Teesside to buy sex, has been widely applauded since it was launched.

Alisdair Gillespie, senior lecturer at the University of Teesside's Centre for Applied Socio-Legal Studies, and who is about to host a public lecture about prostitution, said the moves could work.

"The last thing these men would want would be to be woken up by their wives in the morning with their name in a newspaper.

"This could work as a way of deterring people.

"However, there will always be a demand for women who sell sex, it's the oldest profession in the world."

The free seminar will be held on Wednesday, March 12, at 6pm at the university's Clarendon Building, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough. It will cover the changes in the Sexual Offences Bill and will address topics such as child prostitution and pornography.

* To book a place, telephone 01642 342333 or send an email to j.flynne@tees.ac.uk.